Ex CSUF sidekick aims to be permanent coach

He had bounced around college basketball a bit, but is now in his 10th season with Cal State Fullerton.

Andy Newman is the interim head coach this year – and fighting for the NCAA Tournament ... and the title of full-time head coach.

"I have a one-year contract through April, so I am hoping that we do a good enough job and I show them that I am worthy to be the head coach and take the interim tag off," he said.

After Fullerton hires a new athletic director, Newman's position will be up for evaluation.

"I am obviously very confident and know that I can really get this thing going," Newman said.

He played for Southern Utah and West Valley College, graduated from Azusa Pacific in 1998 with a degree in business administration, then started coaching.

His first stop was at Vanguard University in Coast Mesa, then he went back to West Valley College in Saratoga, working for Bob Burton. After a two-year stint, Ray Lopes lured Newman to Fresno State as his basketball operations manager, during the 2002-2003 season. Bob Burton worked there under Lopes as the assistant head coach.

Two years later, the Burton-Newman duo moved to Fullerton; Burton as head coach, and Newman as an assistant coach. Newman took the interim head coach's spot after Burton abruptly resigned in this past summer after a 155-122 mark. Newman hopes to continue the success that he and Burton built at Fullerton; so far this year, the Titans are 3-4.

"I am hoping to be able to continue that success and take it even one more step farther," he said. "Hopefully, after you have put eight to nine years together where you have a successful program, people start to recognize your name a little bit."

Although the Titans are not one of the favorites in the Big West Conference, Newman and his team are confident that, if they utilize their strengths, they will succeed.

"We are playing five guards, so because of that we are playing fast," Newman said. "We can score that ball and we are fun to watch in that arena but we are having a hard time rebounding the basketball right now."

Newman's stand-out players for the season: senior wing D.J. Seeley and senior point guard Kwame Vaughn. How he will utilize his key players: playing fast and teaching them the game of basketball rather than running a bunch of plays.

"I like to put them in opportunities where they can make good basketball decisions," Newman said.

Not only does Newman teach his players on the court, but also off of the court. This past Thanksgiving, Newman and the team volunteered at the Salvation Army in Anaheim and served food.

"I think it's great to give back; I think it builds character, which is something that you need to win and be successful not just on the court but off the court," he said. "In men's basketball, they are given so many things that they get a sense of entitlement and that's detrimental to them later in life, and so I like to try my hardest to keep them as grounded as possible."

Newman is expecting a baby boy on Jan. 31 or so with his wife, Kellie, a former all-conference women's soccer player for the Titans and current assistant athletics director for marketing at CSUF.

Newman said, jokingly: "I already have my point guard for the 2031 season."